All Chapters of A Little Thing Like That: Chapter 1 - Chapter 8

8 Chapters

Chapter 1

Carrie Ellison stared at me in disbelief."Cole, there were so many people there. Gabe was only helping me out of kindness. "You won't even try to understand me, and now you want a divorce over something this trivial?!""Does fastening a clasp require him to put his hand inside your clothes?" I let out a mocking laugh. "I'm your husband, and I was right there beside you, yet you ignored me and threw yourself into his arms."She clicked her tongue impatiently. "So you're jealous. How many times have I told you? If there were really anything between Gabe and me, you would never have become my husband!"I fixed my gaze on her."Maybe what you two have crossed is debatable—but the hurt I've endured all this time is real."Carrie froze."Carrie, when you insisted on making your childhood sweetheart—who can't even put together a decent PPT—the vice president, and handed over all the clients I fought to secure…"When my mother was in surgery, and you ignored my pleas just to take hi

Chapter 2

I used to believe that after all the hardships Carrie and I had endured together over the years, our love was strong enough to weather any storm.So time and again, I gave her chances, hoping everything would return to the way it once was.But this time, I finally woke up. I don't want this marriage anymore.When I returned to the company to retrieve some documents, a few colleagues were huddled around a phone, whispering among themselves. I stepped closer and saw it was a post from Gabe's Instagram.Caption: [Fighting side by side with you is the greatest happiness.]In the photo, Carrie was attending the annual Contribution Awards ceremony with Gabe. She stood nestled in his arms—they looked perfectly matched.And the award-winning product Gabe was showcasing was the very drone program I had led the development of.Rage surged through me.How could Carrie stoop so low—using the months of sleepless work my team and I poured our hearts into as a stepping stone for Gabe?I reac

Chapter 3

After work that evening, I had just stepped out of the company building when Carrie's car pulled up in front of me.Gabe leaned out from the passenger seat and waved."Cole, sorry about this—I get carsick, so you'll have to take the back seat."Carrie added, "Gabe came to apologize to you."I said nothing, simply nodded and opened the door to sit in the back.The entire ride, Carrie ignored me. She kept chatting with Gabe instead. Whenever he said something funny, she laughed so hard her shoulders shook, even reaching out to lightly slap his thigh.It looked less like conversation and more like flirting.When we arrived at the private room, Carrie casually handed the menu to Gabe."You're my childhood friend. You should know what I like without me having to say it."Gabe rested his chin against her neck."Of course. I even know how many moles you have on your body."I silently took a seat to the side. Not a single dish on the table was something I could eat.Gabe filled my

Chapter 4

With the core technical staff resigning en masse, Carrie was forced to rush back to the company that very day to hold a meeting."The company treats you all so well. Why are you leaving?"The dozen or so senior engineers exchanged glances. At last, the eldest among them spoke."Ms. Ellison, it's not about the treatment; it's about Cole leaving. Wherever he goes, we'll follow."Carrie's brows knitted tightly."What did he offer you? I'll give you three times as much.""It's not about benefits," the man replied. "When we were at our lowest, it was Cole who gave us hope. You could say that without him, we wouldn't be where we are today."Only then did Carrie seem to remember—Seven years ago, when the company was on the brink of collapse, who had been the one holding everything together, turning the situation around?She came to find me, her tone noticeably softened."Cole, don't resign. Let's just live our lives properly, okay?"I looked at her coldly. "Not possible. Don't forg

Chapter 5

When Gabe pushed open the office door, Carrie was staring irritably at the divorce agreement on her desk."Got rid of them?" she asked.Gabe grinned. "Everything's taken care of.""Did you say what I told you to?"He nodded."And how did he react?"Gabe paused, thinking back."Seems like… he didn't react at all…"The irritation in Carrie's chest deepened. She glanced down through the floor-to-ceiling window. Cole and his group were already gone.Annoyed, she shoved aside the coffee Gabe had just brought her."You can go now.""Carrie…""Just listen. Go."Gabe pressed his lips together, stealing a glance at the empty office space below through the corner of his eye. A faint smile curved his lips before he turned and left.The moment he was gone, Carrie crumpled the divorce agreement into a ball and threw it to the floor.Why was Cole so impossible to deal with?How many times had she told him that she and Gabe were innocent—completely innocent!As her husband, the man w

Chapter 6

The next day, Gabe updated his Instagram with a new photo.A blanket covered his lower abdomen. One hand held up the camera, deliberately revealing his chest and the ambiguous marks along his neck.On the other pillow, a woman's profile could be seen—eyes still closed.Caption: [So what? She's still mine.]The post was made visible only to me.No—also to Carrie.Because she had liked it.I glanced at it casually, then tapped "like" myself before going to sleep.By the time I woke up, the post had already been deleted.My phone showed more than a dozen missed calls from Carrie."What's the meaning of Victoria's post?"Her sharp questioning nearly made me forget that I had crossed the Cayner Mountains with Victoria Collins the night before.What I hadn't expected was that after the climb, she'd still have the energy to post on Instagram. Typical of her—almost frighteningly formidable.In the photo, the two of us were dressed in windbreakers, standing at the summit of the Cay

Chapter 7

"Cole… do you think I realized it too late?" The corners of Carrie's eyes were already red. "I know—five years. I really was too late. But we still have decades ahead of us. I'll prove it to you. For the sake of the ten years we've shared… can you give me one chance to make things right?"She spoke with complete sincerity.But I shook my head."Carrie, do you really not understand what your crossing the line means to me? Even if you never intended to cross that final boundary?"She looked at me, confused.I shook my head again."No, Carrie. You're not that naive. When you were with Gabe, you knew exactly what you were doing, didn't you? You just enjoyed the ambiguity—wanting everything at once. And now it's gotten out of control."I looked straight into her eyes."So, Carrie… I will never forgive you. Not in this lifetime."…I spent years at Carrie's company, willingly giving her my youth.Ten years ago, we met and fell in love on campus.After graduation, I worked part-ti

Chapter 8

With my departure, the Ellison Corporation began losing a large number of clients, gradually spiraling toward collapse.In the past few days, Carrie had sent me countless messages and calls.I had blocked them all.No amount of apology made any difference.At this rate, she would soon be forced to pay massive breach-of-contract penalties and face the risk of bankruptcy.She looked down at the black-and-gold invitation in her hand—the one she had spent her last few hundred thousand dollars to obtain.It was an event hosted by the Collins Group.Her final chance.…I walked into the banquet hall and took a seat on a sofa in the corner.Collins Group was run by the Collins family.I was no longer the Cole who worked silently behind Carrie, unrecognized and overlooked.Now, I was the president of Lindst Group, a close partner of the Grondin family's leadership.The divorce proceedings between Carrie and me had also been formally set in motion.Victoria accompanied me the enti

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